Boogieman
The Boogieman Kenny Carter (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- The Boogieman Cometh (1986) (DVD ts. 5:19-5:20). Time Life Entertainment. Kenny says: "It's the Boogieman!" is a legendary creature that scares children all over the world. The Boogieman is one of the few villains who has faced the Ghostbusters on more than one occasion and has a special connection to one of them, Egon. The Boogieman has become a prominent villain in the Ghostbusters franchise. He made a number of cameo appearances throughout the original animated series and his name was mentioned in an episode of Extreme Ghostbusters. Barry Sherman (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters- In Your Dreams (1997) (DVD ts. 17:06-17:15). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Barry says: "When things go wrong in this city, people show up to blame ghosts, goblins, Count Dracula, the Boogieman - y'know why people eat it up?" He also appeared in an issue of the Ghostbusters comic book by Now, where he was scaring children in a plot to take revenge on Egon. While he appeared to be blue in the animated series, he was depicted as green in the comic book. Description The Boogieman is a somewhat goblin-esque, anthropomorphic creature with human and animal features not unlike the god Pan from Greek mythology. His skin and fur are pale blue. He sports a head grossly oversized in comparison to his arms, legs and torso. His goat-like ears and humanoid nose are quite pronounced and elongated, and his face features high, prominent cheeks. His humanoid eyes are large and yellow, set under black brows and fantastic, porcupine-like blue hair which projects over his face and runs down the length of his back. The Boogieman's mouth (often twisted into a frightening grin) is large and ugly- bearing ruby-red lips and jagged, yellow teeth. To top it off, he sports what appear to be unshaven whiskers on his chin. From the neck down his body is covered in fur. His arms are humanoid, and his large hands end in pointed red nails. Below his waist, the Boogieman resembles a hoofed ungulate, like a sheep or goat. His legs are short, often bent and terminate in cloven hooves. The Boogieman wears some clothing. Around his short neck is a blue bowtie. He also sports a dark blue dress coat with very long tails. History The Boogieman Cometh The Ghostbusters are approached one evening by two children: Megan and Kenny Carter. They claim that the Boogieman has been living in their closet, scaring them each night after they go to bed. Terrified of the monster, the children attempt to hire the Ghostbusters with the savings in their piggy banks. Initially, Peter is skeptical, but at the insistence of Egon they investigate. The Ghostbusters arrive at the Carter residence and begin to look around. Egon's P.K.E. Meter registers high levels of paranormal activity in Megan and Kenny's closet, but when the door is opened nothing is to be found but coats and clothes. Peter is convinced the children have over active imaginations until a piercing orange light blazes from the back of the closet. A giant, goblin-like head emerges: it is the Boogieman. Egon confronts the creature as it steps into the room. In its shrill, wheezy voice the monster utters "I remember you!" The Ghostbusters attempt to capture the beast, but discover he is not a ghost. At Peter's urging, they increase the power of their blast streams and manage to repel the Boogieman back into his realm. They regroup at headquarters to figure out how to defeat the Boogieman. That night, Egon reveals that the Boogieman used to frighten him as a child, which prompted him to start investigating the paranormal. The Ghostbusters manage to find a vacant room connected to the Boogieman's realm and set up a faux child's room to lure the Boogieman to them. Ray (who after expressing affection for one of the prop stuffed animals) is chosen to sleep in the room as bait. The plan works, and the Ghostbusters pursue the startled creature into his realm, where the Boogieman gains the upper hand. After avoiding traps and adjusting to the altered reality of the realm, the Ghostbusters chase the Boogieman through a series of portals and closets, finally losing him in the realm. At this point, Egon devises a plan to trap the Boogieman in his realm indefinitely. Attaching a prototype Ghost Bomb (revealed in a gag with Peter and Slimer at the beginning of the episode) to the four Proton Packs, the Ghostbusters set the devices to overload. Before they can leave, the Boogieman confronts them, blocking their escape. While threatening the heroes, the Boogieman gestures to the Carter children's door, claiming that he will exact revenge on them after finishing the Ghostbusters. However, Kenny and Megan see the portal open and the dire situation the Ghostbusters are in. With courage, they overcome their fear of the monster and distract the Boogieman by insulting his appearance and odor. As he advances on the children, Kenny spills a bag of marbles under the Boogieman's hooves which causes him to slip of the edge of the walkway. With the Ghost Bomb circuit seconds from detonating, the Ghostbusters sprint for the Carter's doorway. Egon scoops the Carter children into his arms and leaps through the portal. Startled by the commotion in their home, Kenny and Megan's parents burst into their children's room and demand an explanation from the Ghostbusters. Egon warns them to move away just as a violent explosion leaps from the closet. No one is injured, and a quick check of the P.K.E. Meter assures that the plan worked: the Boogieman's doors are sealed, leaving him a prisoner of his own realm. Egon tucks the children in and after a goodnight kiss, the Ghostbusters are off to their next adventure. The Bogeyman Is Back In an accident during a job at the top of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, a particularly malicious ghost blasts Egon off the building. He is saved by Winston in Ecto-2, and is seemingly unshaken by the fall. That evening, Egon cannot sleep due to the extreme anxiety the traumatic event has caused. He attempts to calm his nerves with warm cocoa and an old movie (a rather grim vampire picture). Egon is uncharacteristically shaken by the show. His fear is so intense that the Boogieman, thought locked away forever, is able to sense it and draws enough energy to break out of his realm. As Egon returns to bed, a pale blue light bathes his bed, and the Boogieman steps out of the closet. The Boogieman appears in the Ghostbusters' headquarters with vengeance in his eyes but is driven off before he can attack Egon, who is petrified with terror. The Boogieman was shot out of the Firehouse and into the streets with the Ghostbusters hot on his heels. He is tracked to an alley, where he surprises the Ghostbusters. Egon has the only possible shot, but is intimidated by the Boogieman, who takes delight in slowly facing Egon down, soaking up all of his fear. With a subtle, "Boo!", the Boogieman scares Egon and escapes into the city. The Boogieman tracks down the Junior Ghostbusters in what is surely an attempt to kidnap them for bait, but is interrupted by the Ghostbusters who come to the rescue. The Boogieman flees and makes his way to a closed carnival, the Big Apple Amusement Park, where he uses his powers to transform the property into a freakish, nightmare amusement park. Back at the Firehouse, Egon has modified one of the particle throwers into an Atomic Destabilizer, a device that will transform the Boogieman into his ethereal counterpart long enough to be captured in a Ghost Trap. The Ghostbusters then track the Boogieman to his carnival lair and upon entering his new realm are quickly scooped on the back of a large serpent. As they are flown through the air, animated park statues disarm the Ghostbusters. The serpent sails into a clown-faced gateway and the Ghostbusters are taken prisoner. Slimer escapes to enlist the help of the Junior Ghostbusters, and the Boogieman reveals his plans to scare the Ghostbusters to death. He sends the heroes on a frightful, tumbling journey into a netherworld-like space where they are chased, surrounded and bound by the Boogieman for a second time. As the Boogieman is about to exact his revenge, the Junior Ghostbusters arrive with the Proton Packs. Again distracted by children, the Boogieman leers toward them. Egon, desperate to save the kids, is able to shed his fear and breaks his lashings. In one swift dash, he dodges and jump kicks his way through the Boogieman's goons, dives between the Boogieman's legs and receives the Atomic Destabilizer heaved his way by the children. With no time to lose, he draws a bead on the Boogieman and fires. The kids throw traps out, and the Boogieman and his goons are captured. This time for good. Now Comics The Boogieman makes one appearance in the Now Ghostbusters comic series. He is the main villain of issue twenty six, where he is going around scaring children. He then uses their fear to gain more power for revenge against Egon. It is explained that the last time Samhain had escaped the Containment Unit, the Boogieman took advantage of the situation by escaping, as well. He was eventually recaptured and put back into the Containment Unit when it was discovered that the Boogieman was still in his non-corporeal form, which meant that he could still be captured in a ghost trap and the Atomic Destabilizer were not needed. While in the animated series the Boogieman was blue, in the Now comic he is green with some orange hair on top. He also possesses some powers he did not possess in either of his appearances on the cartoon (he was shown to be capable of creating illusions to scare people). IDW Comics While imprisoned in the Containment Unit, the Boogieman attempted to escape with the power of fear. Since it was minimal in the Containment Universe, he began disguising himself as Samhain, an entity other ghosts feared as much as the Ghostbusters. Boogieman was satiated but it was nowhere enough power to break free. Boogieman met Ralph and revealed his true form after being overwhelmed by Ralph's fear. To him it was the most satisfying and so human. Boogieman ingested Ralph and turned his sights towards the latest new resident, a Seven Eyed Ghost. Powers The Boogieman, a Class 7 Repeating Corporeal Entity, has at his disposal a number of strange talents, the most notable of which is his pseudo-vampiric ability to draw power directly from the fear of his victims. Winston Zeddemore (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- The Boogieman Cometh (1986) (DVD ts. 9:35-9:40). Time Life Entertainment. Winston says: "According to this, the Boogieman lives on the kids' fears. The more scared they are, the better he likes it." While the full extent of his power remains unknown, documented abilities include altering existing matter to fit whatever purpose he desires, creation of carefully-selected portals into the human world through children's closets, super-human dexterity and strength (may jump multiple stories or throw large furniture with a single hand), a powerful scream capable of forcefully knocking people to the ground, super-sensitivity to human fear, and fear-based size changes (i.e. the more frightened the victim, the larger the Boogieman may appear). He is strongest in his bizarre realm, but is capable of creating micro-realms in the human world to suit his needs. He appears to be immortal and indestructible, but if the Boogieman does not feed on a regular basis his supernatural powers weaken to the point where he becomes a benign, muttering entity. In addition to his powers, another edge of the Boogieman's is that he is not a ghost, but a solid, trans-dimensional creature, which gives him a major advantage against the Ghostbusters. He is also an intelligent, sentient creature. During the first encounter between the Ghostbusters and the Boogieman, their equipment is designed to ensnare and capture ectoplasmic entities, so ghost-catching equipment has little effect on him; the P.K.E. Meter is capable of registering his signal, but he is immune to the ghost trap. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- The Boogieman Cometh (1986) (DVD ts. 9:11-9:15). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Since the Boogieman's not a ghost, we can't use the standard Traps on him." The Boogieman gives off a valence rating of minus 9, Jason, Egon Spengler (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "The Bogeyman Is Back" (1987) (DVD ts. 11:04-11:11, 11:12-11:14). Time Life Entertainment. which appears to be rare as Egon knows it to be him immediately. The Proton Streams tend to annoy him more than any thing else, but with enough concentrated power, the Boogieman retreats from the force of a full blast stream and avoids further contact with the equipment. Personality The Boogieman is a malicious, supernatural creature whose sole purpose is to terrify human children in order to feed on their fear. He appears to have a rather high opinion of himself as evidenced by the elaborate throne he keeps in the central portion of his realm. He is incapable of showing remorse or mercy and operates strictly out of malice, greed, and revenge (he truly despises losing). Despite his observed cruelness, he does not physically harm his child victims. Instead, he opts to harvest the fear cultivated by his repeated visits-- a form of psychological torture. He uses physical violence only when provoked or repeatedly antagonized (usually by the Ghostbusters) and usually avoids direct confrontation with adults. When necessary, the Boogieman will cooperate with other supernatural creatures if it benefits his goals of revenge and control. Based on his wardrobe, it is possible that the Boogieman enjoys partying (in his own way) from time to time within his realm. Realm The Boogieman lives in an ethereal domain which serves as his central base. It is from here that he travels through supernatural portals to terrorize his victims. In the Boogieman's domain, the laws of physics and properties of matter are completely under his control. The exact dimensions of this space are unknown, but it appears to be vast and nearly endless, perhaps a sign of the Boogieman's power. There are abyss-like depths, and levels upon levels of doors lined in endless, repeating rows. The cliff-like faces which contain the doors do not follow right angles, but curve and bend as the Boogieman sees fit. There are narrow catwalks for each level of doors, and the Boogieman traverses through his realm via any number of oddly distorted, Escher-esque walkways, staircases, paths and platforms. There are inanimate and animate objects alike. For example, the Ghostbusters are at one point trapped by a giant ring of vipers which transform into a solid, encasing dome. The design of the realm seems to have been inspired by abstract art, gameboards and circuses. Egon The Boogieman has a past history with Ghostbuster Egon Spengler. When Egon was a child, he was one of the many victims of the Boogieman, being scared each and every night. At one point as Egon got older, the Boogieman seemingly disappeared from his life. However, the effects of the nightly scares is what caused Egon to take up a study in the paranormal and eventually Ghostbusting. When the Ghostbusters were forced to face the Boogieman, Egon's childhood came back to haunt him as the creature told him that he remembered him. Egon led his team against the Boogieman and chased him into his dimension, where he faced his opponent in battle. Egon successfully defeated the Boogieman after using the Ghost Bomb to seal his doors to the human realm. Egon was the one who brought the Boogieman back to the human world after his large amount of paranoia gave the villain the strength he needed to break free. Egon once again faced his enemy in battle and using a newly adjusted ghost trap, was able to trap him. Based on Folklore The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, boogieman, boogey monster, bogieman, or boogeyman, is a folkloric or legendary ghostlike monster often believed in by children. The bogeyman has no specific appearance, and conceptions of the monster can vary drastically even from household to household within the same community; in many cases he simply has no set appearance in the mind of a child, but is just an amorphous embodiment of terror. Bogeyman can be used metaphorically to denote a person or thing of which someone has an irrational fear. Parents often say that if their child is naughty, the bogeyman will get them, in an effort to make them behave. The bogeyman legend may originate from Scotland, where such creatures are sometimes called bogles, boggarts, or bogies. Bogeyman tales vary by region. In some places the bogeyman is male; in others, female, and in others, both. In some Midwestern states of the United States, the bogeyman scratches at the window. In the Pacific Northwest he may manifest in "green fog." In other places he hides under the bed or in the closet and tickles children when they go to sleep at night. It is said that a wart can be transmitted to someone by the bogeyman. Bogeymen may be said to target a specific mischief – for instance, a bogeyman that punishes children who suck their thumbs – or general misbehavior. Appearances The Real Ghostbusters *"The Boogieman Cometh" *"Transylvanian Homesick Blues" **The Boogieman is mentioned to Count Vostok Peter Venkman (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "Transylvanian Homesick Blues " (1987) (DVD ts. 12:39-12:42). Time Life Entertainment. *"The Bogeyman Is Back" *Title Sequence of Seasons 4-7 *"Jailbusters" **Recolored picture seen in the Prosecutor's flip book *"Robo-Buster" **Recolored in T.V. ad *"The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" **Slimer mentions him. Slimer (2009).The Real Ghostbusters- "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale" (1991) (DVD ts. 01:52-01:53). Time Life Entertainment. The Real Ghostbusters NOW Comics *''Closet Case'' Extreme Ghostbusters *"In Your Dreams" **He is mentioned. IDW Comics *Ongoing Series **Volume 2 ***Issue #4 ****In The Box Part Four Trivia *Boogieman's name was misspelled in the title card for episode "The Bogeyman Is Back". NOW comics also used the character in comic 26 and spelled him "Boogieman".Now Comics volume 1, issue 26, page 7 **This could be attributed to the fact there are a few different ways to spell his name, and the fact they used a different version than the previous episode was simply overlooked. *On page 20 of Legion Issue #2, the Boogieman is mentioned in jest by a bystander while she talked to Michael Draverhaven. *On page six of Ghostbusters Issue #6, Ray Stantz jokingly mentions the Boogieman. *On the Ghostbusters Issue #9 Cover RI-B, That's Entertainment variant, the Boogieman makes a non-canon cameo. *In the Swedish dub the character's name is Fula Gubben (means "The Ugly Man"). *The Boogieman makes a cameo on a special sketch cover of Ghostbusters #9 *The Boogieman is referenced on the back cover of Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters References Gallery Overall Boogieman03.png|The Boogieman frightens the innocent children 006-13.png Boogieman01.jpg|Egon faces his childhood nemesis Boogieman09.jpg Boogieman10.jpg Boogieman11.jpg 006-09.png 006-15.png 006-18.png 006-19.png Boogiemanisback.png|Egon's worst nightmare coming true in The Bogeyman Is Back Boogiemanisback02.png|The Boogieman making an amusement park into his new domain in "The Bogeyman Is Back" Boogieman04.png|The Boogieman in his new domain in "The Bogeyman Is Back" Boogieman08.jpg|As seen in "The Bogeyman Is Back" BoogiemanJailbusters.jpg|Photo shown in "Jailbusters" Boogiemancomic01.png|The Boogieman as seen in Now comics BoggiemanIDW9Cover.jpg|Non-canon cameo on Ghostbusters Issue #9 Cover RI-B, That's Entertainment variant GhostbustersOngoingIssue9CoverRIBSchoeningCameos.jpg|Non-Canon Cameo in Ghostbusters Issue #9 BoogiemanInTheBox.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #4 Non Canon BoogiemanDesign.jpg|Early Design Category:RGB Characters Category:RGB NOW Comics Characters Category:Corporeal Category:Media Class 7 Category:Legends Category:Ghosts Category:IDW Characters